5 Fun DIY and Upcycle Holiday Gift Ideas
Hello, to all my DIY Mamas out there!
Recently I heard about this cool e-Book called “Uppity Owl Upcycles a Brooch” by children’s book author Monica Blas. It’s about a crafty owl that lives by a pond and learns to “upcyle.” What’s upcycling? I was asking myself the same thing! It’s finding new uses for old things you have just kicking around. I think this is a really creative and neat way to start teaching kids about the environment. And they can make some pretty neat homemade presents!
Try these family crafts and upcycling ideas with your kids – click on the links for the full instructions.
1. Oreo Pops – Frequent Oreo cookie buyer? Your family and friends will love these gourmet chocolate covered Oreo pops! Your kids will have a blast making them, too! Dip Oreos into melted chocolate and place them in sprinkles. You can make them Christmas themed by using green and red sprinkles or design these Oreo pop treats however you want! Full instructions here. Enjoy!
2. Recycled Puzzle Ornaments – Have a puzzle no one uses or one that has missing pieces? Use the puzzle pieces to make adorable ornaments such as a Christmas tree or snowflake! Super fun and creative craft for the kiddos plus it makes a great personal gift for the grandparents from your kids! Learn how to make them here.
3. DIY Wool Felt Ball Coasters – If you have some leftover wool felt balls from a recent crafting project, try this colorful and fun craft that you can make with the kids that will turn into a useful holiday gift for your loved ones. All you need are some wool felt balls, glue and cork coasters. It’s super customizable because you can use several different colors, all one color, Christmas colors, etc. Learn more here.
4. Hot Chocolate Mix Gift in a Jar – I spotted this adorable family crafts idea for re-using mason jars on Pinterest, of course. And it’s perfect for this time of year! Fill one jar with layers of peppermints, hot cocoa mix and marshmallows, and decorate by adding a bow. These would make great little DIY holiday gifts for a teacher or babysitter from your child. I recommend putting the cocoa and marshmallows in the jars after the kiddies have decorated, lest you end up with cocoa mix all over the kitchen floor or find that the elves are nibbling! Instructions here.
5. DIY Pallet Holiday Sign “Let it Snow” – Have some extra pallet wood and paint? I guarantee people will be blown away by this DIY Holiday sign. It’s a beautiful DIY holiday gift idea plus it’s inexpensive! You can customize it by having the sign say something else such as a family name or a different holiday phrase. It just looks stunning. Instructions on how to make this here.
Share your ideas for creative uses for old items and happy holidays!
xo Melissa
Comments
Tina Tapia
For mason jars, you can drill a hole in the top and put a soap pump in its place, fill the jar with hand soap for a rustic kinda looking dispenser. I have so many more upcycling ideas however my brain is currently fried due to 3 children and a new addition on the way 🙂
lace
We save cardboard boxes, tubes, and other interesting shapes for the girls to make marble runs. They love when I bring out all the saved items and let them go. They will build for hours testing out what works best for their marbles.
Keli B
We are huge fans of HappyFamily snacks. We buy the puffs and save the containers to store toys in and other little items. My son also likes to color and decorate the containers too. The containers are BPA free so we have also used them to plant flowers.There are lost of different uses for those containers 🙂
Emily G
We use empty Gerber puff containers as bowling pins for our toddler. Strike!
Christine
I’ve used tissue boxes to make dinosaur feet – based on a craft shown on Sprouts. I also save all my toilet paper and paper towel rolls for my kids. They can be anything from telescopes to swords.
JENNIFER
THE GLASS JARS THAT PASTA SAUCE SOMETIMES COME IN, WE WASH AND USE THEM FOR OUR 1 YEAR OLD. HE LOVES PUTTING DIFFERENT THINGS IN THEM TO SEE WHAT SOUND THEY MAKE AND THEN SHAKES THEM AROUND. HE PLAYS WITH THEM ALL DAY! CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT! =)
chana u
we use all sorts of containers to make musical instruments
Jennie
Love these ideas! We like using bubble wrap as a “planet surface” for action figures … lots of noisy fun!
sharon
We use 20 oz water bottles filled 1/2 way with water, throw in some glitter for color, and seal the cap on with wax. They make great bowling pins!
Anitha Kuppuswamy
You can reuse old LEGO / building set blocks. For small blocks cut shapes like circles/ squares out of foam and add glue to the block to use in kid’s projects or paste in their bedrooms.
Marcella Cook
We live in the country and take old mason or pickle jars and screw them into some wood for the squirrels to eat. It’s a great use for all those jars hanging around. Also, we use the Jam containers that you get at the store with the handle as cups to drink out of.
Chris
We are upcycling all those pinecones in our yard that can’t be composted into winter bird feeders. Just slather peanut butter, bacon grease, lard, or suet then roll in a seed mix. Then we’ve saved all of those wire bread ties to wrap around the stem so they can be hung from a tree. A project easy enough for a toddler and a cheap and “green” gift for friends and teachers. Plus, the little one is learning the value of what it means to give to others and will get to experience happy birds eating from his feeders this winter!
Denise L
My all time favorite thing to upcycle is a good ol’ cardboard box. We’ve made race cars, drive thru windows, secret batcaves. The possibilities are endless.
Aimee
We have quite a few shallow wooden boxes (more like trays – no lid) that some of our wooden toys and crafts came in. We’ve upcycled them into hair accessory storage. They stack nicely in the bathroom drawers and have a divider in them to sort out hair bands, barrettes, etc.
Kathy Dickens
We have done a few recycle items. I love to use empty egg cartons to hold paint and Gerber jars work great too. I also use both of these with my kids to plant seeds, when they start to sprout we replant them into either a jug or empty 2 liter bottle and then wait a little longer and plant them in our garden.
My son also has a rock and seashell collection. He stores them in spaghetti sauce jars instead of mounting them. This way, he can still take them out to look at them when he wants too!
Ioana
We reuse yarn from old/small sweaters and make new dolls and figurines for new toys.
jeannine s
for socks that have lost their match we make bunnies. We fill them with beans, tie off their tops, twist and put ribbon in middle then draw faces
Heather Ashton
Along with egg cartons for paint or play dough, we made a sound matching game with old film canisters, crowns out if cereal boxes (puzzles too) and yogurt containers have been made into a fine motor skill activity similar to the oatmeal boxes using pom poms. Sturdy water bottle make great sparkle bottles or eye spy bottles that fit perfectly in cup holders for an on the go distraction in the car.
candace
We upcycle glsss mason and jelly jars to use as drinking cups. Water tastes wonderful in glass. They are thicker than regular cups and wont break as easily and if they do you have easy replacements. The some people are aftaid of glass breaking with kids around, but plastic chemicals scare me more. They also sell sippy lids on amazon for mason jars. Thanks for the consideration!
candace
Not necessarily a holiday gift, but we upcycle jelly and mason jars to be used as drinking glasses. Some might find fault with using glass in that it breaks and people can get cut, but the chemicals in plastic scare me more. You can even find sippy lids on amazon to cover the top of mason jars. Nothing tastes better than water served in glass. Thanks for the consideration!
Carmen
I love “upcycling” our diaper boxes into storage for my craft room. I just cover with scrapbook paper, contact paper, or fabric.
Melissa Lawrence
Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions — I’m definitely going to try some of your ideas with my kids. The winner for this giveaway is Denise L…congratulations and keep on upcycling those cardboard boxes!
Elaine
We bought, what we thought, was an entire alphabet pad set thing fro a yard sale. Turns out it had the same letter multiple times and not all letters even had the cutout to go in. My husband now cuts those pads up and makes 3D learning manipulatives with them. There is a shape station and a color station already He is working on numbers and mini block letters.
simone t
My son is huge into Angry Birds, so everything in our house becomes either a set for an Angry Bird to knock over or a box to keep them in. Any empty milk jugs or water bottles get filled and frozen in any extra space in the freezer to cut back on energy usage as well.
Anonymous
i made a small house out of a big box we got from buying our washing machine. cutting rectangular-shaped holes on the sides as windows and another as a door big enough for my 3yr old to get it. and my older kids had fun coloring the house with their crayons.
carol
i made a small house out of a big box we got from buying our washing machine. cutting rectangular-shaped holes on the sides as windows and another as a door big enough for my 3yr old to get in. my older kids had fun coloring the house with their crayons.